Down the crooked road a waysA child's shadow hiding in the briarTending to a twisted heart that's bent and brokenWounded and abandoned left amongst the rotted root to rot

Moon, crimson moonRose marie's walking down the crooked road a waysAll aglow, her fair white skinPortrait of beauty, angel to manyHears the hush crying from the briarReaches in her hand to see what's the matterAnd is dragged through the darknessBeneath the lonely cypressThe town's beloved daughterCarried to her death in the turbid watersAnd set afloat downstream

Whole town erupts, bursts into flameParties go a-searching down the crooked road a waysFind old rufus there drunk and asleepFishing by the water must have killed our beloved daughterCan't hold back these waves of angerTie a rope around his neckSee if he still hollersAnother innocent soul hangs over the briar